For Queen And Country
by melwel3
Summary: Merlin modern college AU. Merlin moves to a new university and lives with Arthur. What ensues is jealousy, yelling fights, and romance. But will everyone turn out happy in the end?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey! This is my first fic I've ever done, and it was a dual effort by myself and a friend of mine who goes by the tumblr url spontaneousfangasm. You should look at her page, check out some of her songs and stuff she's posted. Anyways, this is the first of several fics we had ideas about in an AU we thought up one Wednesday night. It's a Merlin AU with the characters being in a modern-day college setting. I'm gonna try to update as much as possible, but I have no idea what my schedule will be like over the holidays so please bear with me! (Also, fyi, the Morgana in this is based off of Morgana from Season 1)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish I did.

For Queen and Country

**Chapter** **1**

Merlin exited the taxi slowly, his hand tense on the handle. He had transferred schools this term and was terrified about having to make new friends, deal with a new roommate, and worry about people just being generic assholes like at the last place. He'd lucked out and found a guy who was willing to not only live with him, but also pay his half of the rent just to tutor him.

He grabbed most of his luggage and headed up the stairs. The guy (Arthur) said he had already moved in so he would be in the apartment to meet him. The elevator had a line, and the apartment was only on the fourth floor, so Merlin took the stairs. That ended up being the wrong choice.

By the time he made it to the room, he was just about ready tocollapse. Merlin grabbed the door handle, turned it, and...it didn't budge. _Oh you've got to be kidding me,_ Merlin thought. He knocked loudly a couple of times, and didn't hear anything on the other side.

He pulled out his phone and texted Arthur asking where he was. After a few minutes, when he didn't get an answer, he figured he should get ready to wait it out. He dropped his luggage and slid down the wall, wishing he had grabbed his bag containing his computer. Oh well. He sighed. No changing that now.

Eventually he heard noise coming from down the hall. Merlin turned to see a girl with milky brown skin coming down the hall, playing with her keyring. She noticed Merlin and his bags and smiled.

"Are you Arthur's new roommate?" the girl asked him.

"Yeah, I'm Merlin." He stuck his hand out, grinning up at her.

"Gwen." She shook his hand, smiling back at him. "You can come sit in here if you want. Knowing Arthur, you'll be out here waiting on him a while."

"I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense. Here, I'll help with your things." Gwen grabbed one of his bags and headed into her place, with Merlin right behind her. There was another girl in the apartment sitting on the couch. She had extremely pale skin and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail. She looked at Merlin curiously as he walked in.

"Making new friends already, Gwen?" she inquired.

"Morgana, this is Merlin, Arthur's new roommate." The dark-haired girl–Morgana–nodded at Merlin, and he smiled back, putting his bag down next to the door. Gwen placed the one in her hands next to their little dining table, and then turned to face him, her hands on her hips. "Would you like some water, Merlin?"

"Sure that'd be great," Merlin replied, sitting in one of the chairs.

Morgana leaned over the back of the couch, looking at Merlin. "So. Merlin, have you ever actually met Arthur?"

"Er... no."

"Well that explains it then."

"What?"

"There's no way someone who actually _knows_ Arthur would live with him voluntarily. Trust me, I grew up with him."

"You're his sister?" Merlin asked as Gwen returned with his water. "Thanks," he said quickly, taking the glass from her hands and sipping it.

"Adoptive sister. Lived with him and his dad since I was five." Morgana had a look on her face as if she'd smelled something bad.

"Is he really that horrible?"

"Oh no, he's a nice enough guy," Gwen interjected, "He's just...a forceful personality to be around 24/7. You know, he can just be a bit too much sometimes."

Morgana laughed. "That's a nice way of putting it."

Merlin was getting worried now. Was free rent worth it if his roommate was going to be a huge pain in the ass?

A male voice wafted in from out in the hall. "I'll be in in a sec, I just want to say hi to the girls." A curly blonde-haired head stuck in the door. "Hey Gwen. Hey Morgana."

"Hey Leon," they chorused.

"Is Arthur home?" Morgana asked.

"Yeah we just got in." And then he seemed to realize that there was another person in the room. "Who're you?"

"Merlin. Arthur's roommate." Merlin stood to gather his things. "If he's back I'll just head over. Thanks for the drink and the company ladies."

The girls waved good-bye "Bye Merlin!"

Leon walked next door with Merlin, helping him carry his stuff. "I'm Leon, by the way. I grew up with Arthur and Morgana."

"Merlin. I'd shake your hand, but..." he looked pointedly at the bags in his hands.

Leon laughed, his curly hair bouncing across his forehead. "It's alright."

They entered the apartment to find the living room empty.

"ARTHUR! YOUR ROOMMATE'S HERE!" Leon yelled. An athletic, blonde-haired man walked out from one of what Merlin assumed were the bedrooms. He had on a Manchester United jersey, which was also Merlin's favorite club. At least football matches won't be awkward to watch together.

Merlin dropped his bag and extended a hand. "Hi, I'm Merlin."

Arthur ignored the hand and walked up to Merlin. "You were supposed to be here at 3. It's 3:05. I can't stand tardiness," he stated shortly, crossing his arms. Merlin gaped.

"I was here at 3," he retorted. "You weren't. I was waiting for you next door."

Arthur walked right by Merlin and up to Leon. "We need to hurry up and get back to the house. I need to make sure Gwaine isn't drinking all the beer we bought for the rush party." He walked on out the front door, not looking back or saying good-bye.

Leon looked at Merlin apologetically and placed his bags on the floor. "Sorry about him. He's just a little stressed. Nice to meet you Merlin," he said as he walked out the door after Arthur.

"You too," Merlin muttered. He looked around the place, fully furnished and honestly very homely-looking, and felt oddly out of place. He kept hearing what Morgana and Gwen had said in his mind. _"There's no way someone who actually knows Arthur would live with him voluntarily...He's just...a forceful personality to be around 24/7 ...he can just be a bit too much ..." _

What the hell had he gotten himself into?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: _Merlin_ is still not mine. The lyrics to "Mary Mac" aren't mine either.

**Chapter** **2**

Merlin had just finished unpacking and was sitting down to see if there was anything good on the telly when there was a knock at the door. He got up and opened the door to find a dressed up Gwen and Morgana on his doorstep.

"Go put on a nice shirt we're taking you to a party," Morgana said bluntly.

Merlin just stared, confused. "What?"

Gwen took sympathy on him and explained. "We're taking you to the frat house for their first party of the year. Arthur always wants as many girls as they can possibly get in the house to draw in new pledges. We figured he wouldn't mind if we brought you along, as well."

"Um, ok. Just give me a second." Merlin opened the door wider to allow the girls to enter. As he did, he nervously started scraping his palm with his fingernail; it was an old habit he had had ever since he was a little kid. "Make yourselves at home."

After a twenty minute walk, Merlin and the girls were walking through the front door of an enormous house that was already packed to the gills with people. They all paid the $5 charge at the door to cover the drinks and went in to try and find some drinks. Morgana immediately spotted Leon and called him over.

"Hi Morgana, Gwen," he said, hugging both of them in turn. "Oh! Hello, Merlin! I wasn't expecting to see you here. Thinking about pledging?"

"Oh, no," Merlin said, flustered. "I'm not much of a 'brotherhood' guy." He hadn't even considered it, really. It didn't, he thought, looking at their present company, look like somewhere he'd easily fit in. "The girls invited me, so I thought I'd come," Merlin explained.

"Alright, alright," Leon said with a laugh. "I won't try to sell it to you. How about I introduce you to some of the guys? I bet you'll probably see some of them at your apartment sooner or later."

"Umm, sure?," Merlin glanced at the girls with a slightly worried look on his face.

"Don't worry, they don't bite," Morgana laughed.

"Besides, I think we should try to find Elyan anyway," Gwen added, looking around her.

"You are such a worried big sister," Morgana teased as they walked off.

"Come along, Merlin," Leon put his arm around Merlin and steered him through the crowd.

The first guy they spotted was a large, athletic man with distinctly defined arms, surrounded by a group of girls that he appeared almost uncomfortable talking to.

"Percy!" Leon shouted to the man. Percy looked up to see Leon and relief washed over his face. He excused himself from his admirers and walked over to the two.

"Leon! Glad to see a friendly, not flirty, face," he said with a big dopey grin as he hugged him. "Who's this?"

Merlin stuck his hand out to him. "I'm Merlin, Arthur's new roommate."

"Good luck, my man! I'm Percival, by the way, but everyone calls me Percy." Percy shook Merlin's hand with a strong grip.

"Percival, if you could guess by his crowd of adoring fans," Leon gestured to the gaggle of girls still eyeing Percy appreciatively, "is the star keeper for our beloved school's football team. He's not exactly a ladies man, though. More of a gentle giant of few words who hangs in the background all the time. I really don't know why he chose to play a sport where he has to be in the spotlight constantly."

"I never thought I was good enough for the spotlight," Percival admitted, turning bright red and laughing, flustered.

"Anyway, we'll leave you to your fan club, Percy. Off to meet the rest of the knights," Leon finished. Percival turned slightly green and headed in the opposite direction of the "Percival Princesses" (according to some of their shirts). Merlin couldn't help but wonder how many of their already sparse brain cells they had wasted on coming up with the name, and if they even had any left after that.

"The 'knights'?" Merlin inquired.

"A lot of people on campus have started calling a group of guys from the frat 'the knights' since we're all training to be the proverbial 'kings' of our families business empires and we spend a lot of time together," Leon explained.

"I guess that...kind of makes sense." Merlin tried to tamp down the smile tugging at his cheeks. _Knights_. Strangely enough, he could picture it – big Percy, proper Leon, Arthur... well, Merlin would be lying if he said he wasn't strapping, at least.

"Yeah," Leon said, taking in his expression with a grimace. "We're not particularly fond of it either."

A loud outburst next to them drew their attention. "Ah, I have a feeling you're about to meet Gwaine." As he said this, a mop-headed man jumped up on a table nearby and led the crowd in a rousing chorus of "Mary Mac":

_Mary Mac's father's making Mary Mac marry me  
My father's making me marry Mary Mac  
And I'm going to marry Mary  
To get married and take care of me  
We'll all be making merry when I marry Mary Mac _

The man flipped his head back, belting out, "WHO'S THE MOST ARTICULATE DRUNK YOU'VE EVER HEARD?"

"GWAINE!" the crowd answered.

Gwaine laughed, "That's right you crazy ass-hats!" Then he spotted Leon. "LEON!" he proclaimed, jumping off of the table and stumbling his way over. He latched himself on to Leon's shoulders and planted a sloppy, wet kiss on his cheek. "Have I ever told you how much I love you, man?"

"Not since the last time you were hammered, I think," Leon answered while extricating himself from Gwaine's arms. "By the way, this is Merlin. He lives with Arthur."

"Merlin!" Gwaine switched to kissing Merlin's cheek. "We shall be fast friends indeed. Especially if you are living with one of my fellow knights of the realm!" He released him. "Now, to continue my quest to get piss-head drunk!" With that he charged off , arm raised, in the direction of the kegs.

Merlin just looked at Leon, shocked.

"Yeah, Gwaine is a bit of an ass when he's drunk, but normally he's a good guy. He's just...complicated," Leon shrugged.

"Really?" Merlin had seen his fair share of college movies, and he could, with little effort, picture Gwaine in every single one of them. "He seems like every stereotype of a frat guy that I've ever heard."

"Don't judge him by Party Gwaine. He's totally different during the daytime."

"I'll have to take your word for it." Merlin looked up to see they were approaching the girls again, and that they had gained two people while Merlin and Leon were gone.

"Hi boys! Merlin, this is Lancelot, another frat member, and this is Elyan, my younger brother who's thinking of pledging," Gwen introduced the Spanish-looking man to her left and the dark-skinned man, a taller version of Gwen, to her right.

"I heard you're Arthur's new roommate. I feel like I should warn you: never try to wake him up before noon. He gets rather cranky," Lancelot joked as he shook Merlin's hand.

"You are a brave man, Merlin," Elyan said, stepping forward next. "I've heard horror stories about Arthur."

"Let's go get some drinks, Merlin, Leon. Elyan, I think I see Percival over there. You should go say hi, let him practice his recruiting speech on you." Morgana grabbed the two guys and pulled them towards the bar where some frat brothers were handing out bottles. "Sorry, I've just been trying to get Gwen and Lance alone ever since we found him. They're kind of really into each other. Everyone knows it but them."

"It's rather sickening at any movie night or anything we have," Leon elaborated. "Lance is one of the knights, and Gwen and Morgana are almost always there, too. I have a feeling Elyan will be gaining his knighthood soon, as well."

"I hope so. Gwen worries about Elyan constantly so I have a feeling we'll see him at our place a lot. Honestly, it would be easier to just make him part of the group officially," Morgana chipped in.

"Shove over," Merlin hears from behind him. He turns around to see Arthur trying to push past him to the bar.

"Hey Arthur! How's recruiting going?" Morgana asked.

"Oh, hi Morgana. Leon." He turned to Merlin. "Who's this? A possible pledge? He's kinda...scrawny."

"I'm Merlin..." Merlin answered, after a stunned moment. How unbelievable. He glared back at a thoroughly disinterested useless _git_ of a roommate. "...your roommate? We met this afternoon?"

"Right." Arthur barely even looked at Merlin. "I guess I'm just surprised to see you out and about. You seemed like a bit of a homebody, if you know what I mean. Not really one for actually being around people." Arthur had gotten his beers by then so he turned and walked away without another word.

Leon looked embarrassed again. Morgana was absolutely livid. "How dare he say something like that to you? Just because he's the big man on campus he thinks he can be a prat to anyone he wants to. I think I'll go tell him what I think of him right now!" She started to storm off but Leon grabbed her arm.

"Leave him. Now's not the time. How about we get Gwen, Percy, Lance, and Elyan and all go sit on the porch? Kind of a first get-together of the year."

Merlin interjected, "I think I'll just go home. I'm not in a party mood anymore." Merlin felt like he had been punched in the stomach. _Not again. Not already._ He shoved those thoughts aside and smiled, too brightly, back at them.

"Oh Merlin," Morgana said softly, seeing, naturally, right through him. He'd always been a terrible liar. "Don't let him ruin it for you!" she pleaded.

"No, it wasn't him. I'm just tired. Really." With that Merlin headed to the door, ignoring Morgana and Leon's shouts behind him.

He had to admit, Arthur's comments had stung a bit. He had dealt with people who thought like him at his old school, but he had hoped he could go one day without encountering any judgements. He'd managed to find some people who wanted to spend time with him, and didn't make jokes at his expense then try to say they were just kidding. He was doing alright. Then that prat had to come in and ruin the moment. Merlin could almost feel a little black raincloud forming over his head.

The night air as he walked home was surprisingly cool, though, and he found himself relaxing and enjoying it. Maybe a bit too much, though, because he soon realized he was lost.

He stopped and looked around, not recognizing a single thing around him. _Wonderful_, he thought. Checking his phone, Merlin saw that it was dead. _This is just great. Amazing idea Merlin, walk home alone when you don't know where to go_.With no other clue what to do, he sat down on a nearby bench.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for all the faves, follow, and reviews everyone! Keep them all coming! I took out a lot of Gwaine's backstory, my beta/cowriter pointed out that it was discussed kinda quickly considering they only just met. No worries! It will pop back up eventually!

Disclaimer: I own none of Merlin. If I did, I would not be stopping it now.

**Chapter** **3**

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, someone was shaking him awake. "Merlin? Is that you? I was fairly tipsy last time I saw you."

Merlin raised his head to see a face with long brunette hair and two days' beard close to his. "Gwaine?" he inquired.

"The one and only," came the reply. "You really shouldn't sleep on a bench. It'll play hell with your back. And you usually smell like piss in the morning." Gwaine pulled Merlin up off the bench and grabbed him around the waist to make sure he didn't stumble over in his exhaustion.

"Wait, weren't you intoxicated to the point I should be concerned about you a couple hours ago?"

"Nah, I just play it up for the crowds. A man's nothing without his reputation, after all." Merlin looked at Gwaine skeptically as they walked. "Well it's not like I can really get that drunk every weekend. How could I possibly do that while also taking 18 hours for an organic chemistry and multivariable calculus double major and volunteering at the local youth outreach program nearly 30 hours a week?"

Merlin was speechless. "I just...really misjudged you, Gwaine," he admitted.

Gwaine shrugged, the motion shifting Merlin's arm from around his neck. "It's no problem. Most people do. I don't mind it, really. Just happy to be here." He leaned back with a closed-eyed smile, letting the night air wash over his face. Merlin looked at him thoughtfully, his lips pursed to the side. He pulled his arm back and stepped away from Gwaine; he could stand on his own, now, and Gwaine let his arms fall to his sides, swinging against his thighs.

"I am too," Merlin said after a long moment. "I really am, happy that I can… that I'm able to… well." Merlin blushed slightly. He was thankful for the scholarships and all the help he'd gotten, everything done to get him here, but he didn't see much cause of dumping all of that information on Gwaine. Gwaine, who was a knight—Gwaine, who, most likely, hadn't wanted for anything.

It was almost as if the other boy sensed what was unsaid. Gwaine straightened up, blinking his eyes open to look at Merlin, his eyebrows raised. His gaze, when he finally spoke, was sharp underneath his shaggy hair. "You're a scholarship student as well?"

"I…" Merlin managed to blush before the other half registered. "Wait, hang on. As well?"

Gwaine looked at Merlin with true joy. "Yeah. You in the same boat?"

"Yeah," Merlin said, grinning back at Gwaine. "My mom couldn't have possibly afforded to send me here, not with my step-brother at home."

"Huh. And here I thought I was the only one who had any financial aid at this school." Gwaine laughed, raking his hands through his hair.

Merlin grinned. "Not anymore. Disappointed?"

"Absolutely not," Gwaine crowed, reaching over to sock him lightly over the shoulder. "This is excellent. I mean, before, it was only Percy who—er." Merlin watched the energy go out of him, shyness descending out of nowhere. "Percy's kind of the only knight who knows. About my situation, I mean. It's not…" Gwaine frowned, stuck.

Merlin pinched his fingers together at the corner of his lips and swept them across his mouth, lips taught. "Not a word to anyone."

And with that, Gwaine was grinning again, bounding over to the curb and sitting down, patting the cement next to him for Merlin to join him. "So, come on, then. I'm listening."

"Well, I mean, it's nothing remarkable." Merlin walked over and sank down next to him. The alcohol was most of its way out of his system; sober, the air was a little bit colder than he'd noticed before. He shivered.

"Tell me about home?" Gwaine asked.

"Well, you already know about my step-brother, I guess," Merlin said. "My mom raised me, then when I was four, she got remarried to a guy named Kenneth with another son, Daegal. He was a nice guy, but he died of cancer when I was seven. My mom was kind of… gone for a few months after that." The memory made Merlin pause. "She still did everything, but she wasn't really there. I pretty much watched after Daegal then. When my mom got better, we were a proper family again. Been that way ever since.

"My mom was so proud when I told her I got a full ride," he remembered, laughing lightly.

"As she should be," Gwaine nodded, nudging at Merlin with his shoulder. "Hell, I am and I barely know you."

"Well, thank you, Sir Gwaine," Merlin snorted, nudging him back. "Alright. Your turn."

Gwaine's smile stuttered slightly, his eyebrows drawing together. "Nothing quite so heartwarming, I can tell you that," he said, with forced levity. "Come on," he said quickly, hopping to his feet. "Let's go, mate. Didn't I mean to get you home?"

"I… Right," Merlin said, the change of pace making his head spin. "Alright, sure." He accepted the hand Gwaine offered him to pull him to his feet and pretended not to notice how relieved Gwaine looked that he hadn't pushed for more information. "Can I just ask you one question?" Merlin asked quietly as they set off, falling into step with each other.

"Depends—did that one count?"

"No."

"Shoot."

"Well, I just… why not let people know? The real you, I mean. You're brilliant."

Gwaine laughed at that, as Merlin hoped he would; he didn't like seeing something so sad in someone so… well. ""When I'm here, I don't want people to pity me," he said simply. "Besides, not many people can be convinced I'm not some privileged, constantly partying frat boy. I just let people see me as the partier, because they seem to believe it much easier."

"It's stupid," Merlin says stubbornly. "They shouldn't."

"No," Gwaine agreed, but the easy smile was back.

They walked in silence until they reached the apartment complex. As they got on the elevator, Merlin said, drowsily, "You know, Gwaine, you really should let people see the real you. I personally like it a lot better than the drunk party animal. Maybe they will, too."

Gwaine laughed as Merlin yawned. "Thanks, Merlin. I have to say, it feels good, to know that someone else is in my boat."

Merlin nodded at him, smiling. They were at his and Arthur's floor. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem. Good night, Merlin."

"Night, Gwaine." Merlin got off the elevator and walked off down the hallway, smiling to himself. Maybe the night hadn't been a bust, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is the last chapter I have finished already, so I may not be posting again until I have some free time. I'll try my best to hurry and write more for you guys! Thanks again for all the follows, faves, and reviews! Especially to Merthurfan1, I really love reading your reviews every time I post a new chapter.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

**Chapter** **4**

The semester kicked off fairly well. Merlin didn't get lost again, he got all his books from the bookstore, and he had his tests all marked off in his planner. He was hanging out at Gwen and Morgana's a lot (Leon was usually there) or he would go upstairs to Percy and Gwaine's(where Elyan and Lancelot seemed to practically live). Tensions were still running high between him and Arthur, but Arthur had been spending a lot of time at the frat house to help deal with rush so he hadn't been around enough for him to be too much of a pain. Merlin knew he was going to have to earn his keep, though, so he would have to suck it up and talk to Arthur about tutoring arrangements. He decided to get it over with by the second weekend.

That Friday, Merlin was sitting at the table when Arthur walked in. "Arthur, I think we should discuss the tutoring schedule."

"Alright, but don't you think we should wait for Leon, Percival, and Lancelot to discuss this?" Arthur inquired.

"Why?"  
"I mean, you are tutoring them as well."

"**WHAT?**"

"Yeah, that's part of the deal. You tutor me and the other knights, you live here free."

Merlin thought of a million and one things to say at that moment, but he realized none of it would help, so, very tongue-in-cheek, he said, "Fine. When can we all meet?"

"We have a meeting at the house this afternoon, so come wait until we're done then we can all talk."

"Good." Merlin used all his willpower to keep his face expressionless. His lips were mashed together in a straight line, and he could feel a muscle twitching under his right eye.

Arthur, for some reason Merlin couldn't fathom, looked just as frustrated. The corners of his lips were pulling into a frown. "Fine."

That afternoon at the house, the guys were all in the main room, waiting for Merlin to say something. "Well, as I'm sure Arthur explained – "

"Actually he didn't." "You mean he knows what's going on?" "Why didn't you say anything?" All the guys spoke up to say that they weren't in fact told anything by Arthur. Merlin looked at him. Arthur shrugged.

"What? It's your meeting. I'm not doing your job for you."

Merlin bit back his retort that of course he didn't, Arthur probably couldn't even do any job he was set, why would he do a small thing like say the purpose of a meeting. That would get him nowhere. "Okay then, I guess _I'll_ tell you. I agreed to be a tutor...for all of you...for as long as I'm living with Arthur. So I figured we should meet and discuss a time when we can all meet and study."

"Well, my practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays," Percival answered.

"I have volunteering Mondays and Wednesdays," Gwaine added.

"I refuse to do it Friday or Saturday," Arthur responded.

"I have church duties all day Sunday," Leon finished.

"OK," Merlin interrupted. "It looks like not all of us can meet on one day. Is there any way any of you can miss any of those things?"

"Oh yes we can all give up our commitments just for you, _Merlin_, just because you asked." Arthur said, his voice low and scathing.

"I'm just trying to find a way–"

"Because I can really tell you're trying your hardest."

Gwaine spoke up, trying to defuse the tension. "You guys can do the tutoring without me. I work better on my own anyway."

"No, I hired him for all of us, he will tutor all of us." Arthur crossed his arms.

"Hired," Merlin repeated.

Merlin was so angry he felt like steam was pouring out of his ears. He didn't trust his tongue, so he just stormed out.

"Wonder what's got his knickers in a twist?" Arthur mused.

"Seriously?" Leon exclaimed. "You just made fun of him in front of all of us and essentially called him just a live-in employee and you're _surprised_ he's angry? If I were him I would've punched you in the face by now! If anything I'm impressed by his self-control!" And with that, Leon stormed out just like Merlin.

"He's right you know. Merlin's a great guy, if you would actually talk to him like he was a human being worth your time," Gwaine added, also leaving.

Lancelot stood next. "You shouldn't treat someone who lives where you sleep so poorly." And he left.

Just Percy and Arthur were still in the room. Percy simply stood and shook his head, but for some reason, that struck as deep a chord in Arthur as Leon's passionate speech. He felt ashamed. Maybe he should try to be a bit more pleasant. He could start tonight.

Arthur pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Morgana, listen. I have an idea involving you, the knights, and Merlin. We don't have long to get this stuff ready so I'm gonna need some help..."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I thought I should mention: I'm American, so if any of the slang or anything doesn't make sense, just let me know and I'll fix it. Also, all the football terms and players are a result of a fairly basic Google search and some random names and facts my older brother has told me about Premiere League football. Once again, thanks for all the faves, follows, and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

**Chapter** **5**

Merlin was in his room, still fuming about Arthur's ridiculously rude comments from that afternoon when he heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" he yelled.

"It's Arthur," came the answer.

"Go away."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I was a prat today and I was going to invite you to come play in a little game of football as an apology. Just the knights, the girls, and a couple other guys."

Merlin opened the door with one eyebrow raised skeptically. "You're willingly admitting to being a prat?"

"Yes."

"And a bone idle toad?"  
"Yes," Arthur conceded, rolling his eyes.

"And a dollop head?"

"What is a _dollop head_?"

"In two words?" Arthur nodded his head, so Merlin continued. "Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur's face was getting noticeably redder from frustration. "Get dressed. We're leaving in five."

Ten minutes later, the two roommates were in Arthur's car, driving down the road. "So, Morgana tells me your favorite football team is ManU," Arthur casually starts.

"Uhh...yeah." Merlin answered.

"Who's your favorite player? I think Gwen said something about Chicharito and De Gea?"

"Yeah, I like them a lot. I've also really liked Rooney for a long time. I'd have to say he's my favorite."

"Rooney's good. Rafael's not too shabby either."

Merlin was confused. Just hours ago, Arthur had been treating him like a second-class citizen, belittling him, or even just ignoring him. Why the sudden change of heart? Arthur had been very blatant in his dislike of his new roommate up to now, but now he was working hard to keep a conversation going. He was not only talking to him like he genuinely wanted to know him better, but he was talking to him like he saw Merlin as a proper bloke and not just his, what was it? _Employee_.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" Merlin asked, finally, turning around and staring, hard, at his roommate. Arthur blinked back at him, guileless and baffled. Merlin wanted to hit him.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you talking to me?" Merlin elaborated. Arthur still looked confused, so Merlin continued. "We've lived together for two weeks, and I think the longest conversation we had was when you were accusing me of being late the first day we met."

"So, what, that means I'm never gonna want to talk to you?"

Merlin glared back at him, trying to ignore the little flicker of hope starting somewhere north of his knees.

"No, it just means I don't understand why now?" He needed a reason, before he let his hopes get too high. Perhaps it was a faze. Perhaps Arthur was simply just _that bored_. He bit at the corner of hs lip, waiting for his answer.

Arthur drove in silence for a moment, then, "I think we should try to get along, at least. And...I don't want you to think I'm a bad guy."

Merlin blinked at him, taken aback. "I don't think you're a bad guy," he said haltingly, shock making his tongue clumsy.

"You're a horrible liar, Merlin. Don't even try."

"No, I really don't," Merlin said, and it was the truth. Crass, yes. Rude, absolutely. But an all out bad guy? He didn't count on it. "Besides, we've only known each other two weeks. Not nearly long enough to decide if you're the Anti-Christ." They both laughed.

It was better like this, Merlin thought. Easier, with the tension broken. Merlin looked over at Arthur and smiled at the other boy with his eyes on the road. Things could have been worse, really.

"Here we are."

Merlin looked out to see that they were pulling into the parking lot of –

"Old Trafford?" Arthur didn't answer, just parked the car and got out. "Arthur, what's going on?" Arthur remained silent while getting his cleats and ball out of the boot of the car. "Arthur, am I going to get arrested?" Merlin was, wasn't he? This was the plot twist – bad roommate turned friend turned reason for the end of Merlin's life as a free elf. He should have seen this coming.

Arthur snorted. "Please, Merlin. You think I would risk my neck like that?" Arthur led a stumbling Merlin through a back door and down a couple tunnels until they came out onto the pitch, where a group of people were already standing around. Nobody else looked particularly worried; Merlin allowed himself to relax, and let his brain catch up with the rest of him.

"We're playing a small game with some friends in _Old Trafford_? How did you manage this?"

"My father knows some people. I had Morgana call him and butter him up to cash in a few favors." As they approached the group on the field, they turned around and walked to meet the two latecomers. Merlin looked and saw Morgana and Gwen in jeans, and Percival, Leon, Elyan (newly "knighted" that week), and Gwaine in generic athletic clothes. And behind them were – Merlin was going to die.

"Arthur. Arthur, is that who I think I'm seeing? Am I going insane or is one of my childhood dreams about to come true?"

"You're not going insane, Merlin. Well no more than usual."

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, David De Gea, and Wayne Rooney were all standing with the group. "Merlin," Arthur introduced the gaping man. "I'm fairly certain you know our other friends who so kindly agreed to come play with us. David, Wayne, Javier, this is Merlin. If we're lucky, he might just stop drooling long enough to say hello." Drooling. He wasn't drooling. Merlin was fairly sure you had to be able to _breathe_ to drool. To be honest, he was surprised he wasn't jumping around screaming and babbling like a little kid.

Merlin gathered himself enough to glare at Arthur momentarily, then proceeded to shake the hands of the three men. "I'm a huge fan. I've been following this team since, well, forever!" Merlin gushed. The three football stars all expressed their thanks.

"So are we all gonna just stand around talking like a bunch of girls, or are we gonna play?" Gwaine piped up.

"Hey!" Gwen and Morgana protested.

"Oh, you know you two talk a lot. You're not even playing with us so you can sit and talk the whole time." The girls just harrumphed and then headed to the sidelines.

They divided up and then started the game. Morgana and Gwen would occasionally cheer them on from the sidelines but for the most part they did, as Gwaine predicted they would, talk.

About an hour and a half into the game, the score was 2-2, and Arthur had the ball. He was running down the pitch, and Merlin was coming at him from his end. As they reached each other, Arthur did a bit of fancy footwork around Merlin, passing him with ease. Unfortunately, this also caused Merlin, being his typical clumsy self, to trip and fall, effectively knocking himself out.

Arthur, seeing this, immediately turned around and ran to check on him, everyone else rushing over as well. He knelt down next to Merlin and leaned close to see if he was still breathing. Luckily, Merlin was still breathing at a regular pace, but he did have a rather large nasty bruise forming over his right eye. "Can anyone get some ice? He's gonna have terrible headache when he comes to."

"Yeah," David answered. "I'll go get some."

"Should we move him?" Gwen asked, her face lined with worry.

"No, he should wake up fairly soon," Arthur reassured her. As he said those words, Merlin began to stir and his eyes opened slowly. As he gained awareness, he looked around at everyone's faces and seemed at a loss as to what was going on.

"Why am I on the ground? And why is everyone staring at me?" he hesitantly questioned.

"You tripped over Arthur and hit your head on the ground," Percy supplied.

"Honestly, Merlin, how do you manage to walk down the street without injuring yourself," Arthur teased. Merlin turned to make a retort, but he realized Arthur was smiling. _I must have really hit my head hard_, he thought.

At that moment, David came back with a bag of ice. "Thanks," Merlin responded, holding it to the rather large lump he felt on his forehead. He was going to _die_, and all that would be left was a great, steaming mound of embarrassment. David grinned down at him. Merlin felt himself sink a little lower into the ground.

Arthur helped Merlin to his feet, putting Merlin's arm over his shoulder and his own arm around Merlin's waist to keep him from falling. "I think I should take him home," Arthur said, looking at the group apologetically. "Once again, guys, thank you so much for coming out for this."

The three soccer stars all responded that it was a pleasure, really no trouble, it turned out to be a lot of fun. Arthur then practically carried Merlin back to his car, where he safely buckled him into the passenger seat. Arthur climbed in the driver's side and started the long drive back to their apartment.

Merlin sat in his seat, staring out the window and contemplating the events of the night. He still couldn't believe he got to not only meet three of his heroes, but _play football_ with them. Granted, he also managed to fall on his face in front of them, but the joy was overpowering the shame. He blamed the head wound.

As they turned around a corner, Merlin pondered Arthur and his actions at the end of the night. When Merlin came to, the closest face he saw was Arthur's, and he could see the utter relief wash over his face when Merlin spoke up. And the way he got worried about Merlin to the point that he volunteered to take him home and _carried _him out to the car?

They soon arrived home, and Arthur helped Merlin to his room, where he left him laying on his bed, facing the wall. Just as he turned to leave, he heard a faint voice from behind him: "How the hell did you get Wayne Rooney, Chicharito, and David De Gea to come play with a bunch of college kids?"

Arthur smiled slightly as he turned around to see Merlin turned over to look at him. "ManU was trying to get Percy to consider going pro and playing for their under-21 team last year. They sent some of the guys from their first team to show him a good time around town, tell him some stories about life as a pro football player. That plan kind of failed miserably. Percy was completely convinced after that night that he didn't want to play professionally, but he did make friends with a few of the lads. He called to see who was available to come out tonight, and, luckily, those three were free and willing."

Even in the dark, Arthur could see Merlin's eyebrows shoot up. "Damn. Is there anything you lot _can't_ do?"

"Not that we've found yet," Arthur chuckled.

Merlin rolled back away from the door, and just as he heard the doorknob turning, he said, "Thanks, Arthur."

Merlin could just barely hear Arthur's response: "You're welcome, Merlin. Glad you liked it."

As he slipped into unconsciousness, Merlin could only think about how truly wrong about Arthur Pendragon he had been. They might, he thought dimly, fading quickly into sleep, even had a chance now, of being...friends.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Oh my gosh it's been forever since I updated and I'm so sorry! I only write when I feel inspiration (as corny as that sounds) and over break I just couldn't convince myself to write anything. Since I got back to school I have written this chapter and another one, though, so expect another one to go up sometime tomorrow! For everyone who's been following this story from back in December, you will probably recognize most of this, since it's Gwaine telling his story (I had to get out some insane Gwerlin bromance feels after the finale). But, the chapter tomorrow is all new! Thanks for your patience with me! Gwaine's necklace mentioned here is the necklace Eoin Macken always wears.

And thank you once again for all the faves, follows, and reviews!

Disclaimer: If I owned Merlin, it sure as shit wouldn't have ended the way it did

**Chapter 6**

A week later, Merlin was in the library (where he seemed to spend a majority of the three months he had already been at his new school) studying for an upcoming exam in biochemistry when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that he had received a message from Gwaine. Merlin opened it and read, 'I'm starved. Want to grab some food?' Merlin's stomach, trying to give some extra encouragement, growled loudly. As a couple people nearby looked at him in indignation, he texted Gwaine back, writing, 'Sure, let's meet at the diner down the street from our apartments. I'll be there in 20.' Merlin gathered up the rest of his supplies and left the library.

Ever since the night Gwaine helped Merlin find his way back to the apartment complex, the two had become fast friends. Gwaine had Merlin to come to anytime he had to vent about classes or scholarship troubles, Merlin had Gwaine to pull him out of his flat when he studied for too long without any outside contact (except for Arthur). Anytime there was a party at the frat house, when Gwaine wasn't putting on a show as a party animal, he was sneaking out to the porch to hang out with Merlin and the knights. They talked about nearly everything, the only topic never touched on being Gwaine's life before he got to the university. Merlin understood it must have been hard, and never pushed for information. He figured Gwaine would tell him when he was ready.

As Merlin entered the diner, he saw Gwaine in a back corner booth, staring in front of him, his eyes unfocused. He weaved his way between the tables and slid in across from his friend. Gwaine looked up, and smiled at Merlin, who grinned back. "So, how many hours have you been in the library today?" Gwaine inquired.

Merlin ducked his head, blushing and muttering, "Four."

"Christ, Merlin! It's barely one o'clock!"

"Don't even. You're as bad as I am when it comes to studying for exams."

"Yeah, but I don't study ten hours a day on a _weekend_when the test is two weeks away!"

Merlin merely ducked his head behind his menu and tried to find the day's special. He knew he went a little overboard when it came to his schoolwork, but he wanted to be sure he did well. He didn't want to disappoint his mom and lose his scholarship.

Merlin looked back up from his menu to see Gwaine looking out the window next to the booth, his eyes glassy and out of focus, his menu not touched in front of him. "Gwaine, is something wrong?" Merlin's eyebrows bunched together in concern.

Gwaine's head snapped back to look at Merlin. "No, nothing wrong, per se. Just—" His eyes dropped to the table and his fingers started drumming on the table, a habit Merlin had noticed Gwaine always did when he was unsure whether to say something. He knew if he wanted to hear what was on Gwaine's mind, he had to wait. Asking the man would just make him more and more hesitant until he eventually cracked a joke and changed the subject. Patiently, Merlin sat with his hands folded on the table. "My mom called me today. Nothing's wrong, really, just calling to check in. She found some old boxes full of my dad's things and she wanted to know if I wanted any of it. It was from before he, uh...died."

Merlin felt himself tense, but tried to not let Gwaine see any change. _Did Gwaine just tell me something about his childhood?_Merlin didn't want to push his friend since he already appeared so uncomfortable, so he simply stated, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. It happened when I was very young. I've had some time to deal with it." Gwaine's fingers started to drum slightly faster. "He was in a car accident when I was eight. It's been just me and my mom ever since."

Merlin glanced at Gwaine's fingers, which were beating out a beat so fast it sounded like one long unending note, and back up. His friend's clear discomfort prompted him to say, "You don't need to tell me this if you don't want, Gwaine. No one's forcing you to."

Gwaine gave a small smile at his friend's kindness. "I know. I _want _to tell you, Merlin. You've been an amazing friend, and, honestly, I want there to be another person I can talk to about this." He brought his hands together and interlocked his fingers, stopping them from tapping. "My dad was a lawyer at a big firm in the city. He supported my mom and I, and we lived well. Honestly, I was a spoiled brat. Then when he died, we were cut off. My mom tried to get some help from some friends at my dad's work, but it turned out my dad wasn't exactly the most popular guy at his office. Most of them left us out to dry. In fact, I wish they all had. Sometimes my mom would come home late with her hair all messed up and her makeup smeared, sometimes her dress would be torn. I didn't realize what that meant when I was a little kid, but I get it now. And I hate that my mom ever had to do that.

"Eventually, though, that wasn't enough, so we moved out of our big house to a tiny one bedroom apartment on the bad side of town. My mom worked as a waitress in a restaurant, and I spent a lot of the time with my neighbor, Gloria. She was this little old lady who used to love to show me her old pictures and tell me stories of her life. She was actually pretty cool. Met a couple US Presidents, supposedly even had a fling with the ambassador to France. I miss her.

Even with my mom working, me wearing secondhand clothes, and moving to the cheapest place we could find, we still didn't have enough cash, so my mom had to start dipping into my college money. We survived on it, but by the time I started looking at my options, there was next to nothing left. So, I applied for every scholarship I could and worked 2 jobs every summer and winter break after I turned 15. I worked my ass off in high school, graduated top of my class, and got a full ride here."

Merlin just stared, his mouth slightly open. _I couldn't have been more wrong when I first met Gwaine. He's had the hardest life of anyone I've met. _

"Merlin, you still there? Hello?" Gwaine was smirking again.

Merlin finally came back to his senses. "Sorry, I'm just processing all that. You're a very impressive person, Gwaine. You went through a lot to become who you are."

"Yeah, I guess you could say I have." Gwaine released his hands, which beat a slow, nearly silent rhythm on the table, before continuing, "I know it may sound stupid, but I see my going here with a full ride as a chance to stick it to each person who refused to help me and my mom. I even wear this to remind me." Gwaine pulled on a chain Merlin had noticed on multiple occasions around his neck to reveal 2 objects. "This was my father's wedding ring. And this was a gift from my mom on our first Christmas when we were poor. A mirror broke so she cut a hole in one of the pieces and and dulled the edges to make a pendant of sorts out of it for me. They're my most treasured possessions."

Merlin was still in awe. Gwaine had gone through so much, but he still could be a happy, well-balanced person (most of the time). He never let on in any way that he had hardships and sadness in his past that would likely still have affected most people. Merlin was so proud of his friend, and was about to say so when Gwaine put a hand up. "I've already filled my quota of chick flick moments for today, so let's just leave it at that." Merlin nodded, fine with letting the conversation end there. He doubted Gwaine wanted to hear any of his comments on it. Just telling Merlin seemed to have already put Gwaine in higher spirits.

"One last thing, though. Could you not mention any of this to anyone else? Even the knights. Percy's the only other person here who actually knows."

"No problem. Mum's the word."

"Great." Gwaine's fingers stopped their movements and he slapped both hands on the table. "I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely famished! Let's get some grub." Gwaine flagged down the waitress and they both ordered. "Oh! Did I tell you about what my entomology prof did for the mosquito presentation last week?"

As Gwaine told Merlin of a costume involving a pool noodle nose and a corresponding rap that had the whole class rolling in the aisles, Merlin thought back to his first day when he was so worried he wouldn't fit in, wouldn't find anyone who he could really talk to , and would be miserable. He smiled inwardly at how completely wrong he was.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I know I said I would put this up yesterday, but the Internet at my house decided to be a little bitch and stopped working, so here you go! Hope you guys like it! Keep on favoriting, following, and reviewing!

Disclaimer: If you think I own anything here, you're wrong.

**Chapter 7**

Percy knocked on the door to Arthur and Merlin's flat on Friday night a week later. He didn't hear anything on the other side, but he knew Merlin was home because Arthur was at the frat house and he could see the light on under the door. Merlin never left the lights on if he wasn't home. Gripping the cool metal of the door handle, Percy turned it experimentally. It revolved easily in Percy's massive hand so that he could open the door. He entered the living room/dining room, and didn't see Merlin, so he headed back to the bedrooms.

Merlin's door was open, and Percy could see him scribbling away on his desk. _Figures_, Percy thought. _Never seems to take a break unless forced to, does he? _He knocked on the door, causing Merlin to jump and turn around, clutching a hand to his chest.

"Percy!" he exclaimed. "You scared me half to death! What are you doing here? I thought there was a party at the house tonight?"

"There is," Percy replied, a grin sliding onto his face, "and I've been ordered to take you there, using whatever means necessary."

"Oh." Merlin looked back at his desk, weighing his options in his mind. "I really should study some more..."

Suddenly Merlin felt himself being lifted into the air and tossed over a brawny shoulder like he weighed nothing at all. Percy was carrying him out of his room, and Merlin was faced with the awkward position of addressing his protests to the large man's bum.

"Put me down! I am not a child!"

Percy laughed and stopped walking as he reached the front door. "Aye, but you are not an old man, either. You should be out with us, celebrating the prime of our lives, not hiding in your room, your nose stuffed in dusty old books."

Merlin remained silent for a moment. "I really have no choice, do I?"

Merlin felt Percy's body shake with laughter again. "Why do you think they sent me?"

"Can I at least walk myself, then?"

"Do you promise not to try any funny business?"

"Cross my heart."

Percy gently set Merlin upright. "You may want to change, though. I don't think what you're wearing is exactly party attire."

Merlin looked down to see he was in an old Science Club shirt he got in high school and a pair of boxers with little four leaf clovers on them. "Yeah, that might be a good idea." He went back into his room. He entertained the thought of just locking his door to try and avoid going, but he doubted that would stop Percy if he was determined.

Half an hour later, Percy was leading Merlin through the back door to the party to avoid Merlin having to pay the cover charge. Most of the other guys in the frat didn't mind Merlin getting in free, but it always led to awkward situations if anyone overheard. It was easier to just go through the back using one of the knights' keys. Once they reached the main room, Percy looked around for the knights, Gwen, and Morgana as Merlin went to grab two beers from a nearby ice chest. He eventually spotted them and once Merlin returned, he led the shorter man over.

The group all greeted the newcomers as they walked up. Merlin noticed Lancelot had his arm around Gwen, and smiled inwardly. It was nice to see they had finally gotten together. He would ask her about it later.

"Have much trouble getting this one out into the real world?" Lancelot questioned Percy, indicating Merlin with the beer bottle in his other hand.

"Nah, after I threw him over my shoulder when he first refused, he seemed to change his mind fairly quickly." Percival was grinning at Merlin, whose face was growing red. Everyone laughed, and then a girl with brown hair in a long side braid came up behind Morgana and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, hi Sefa!" Morgana turned to embrace the girl, then turned back to the group with her arm still around her friend's shoulders. "Everyone, this is Sefa. She's in my accounting class."

There was a round of generic greetings for Sefa. Then Gwaine, who was still in Party Gwaine's mindset apparently, approached the girl from across the small circle the group made and lifted her hand to his lips. "Enchante, mademoiselle." He looked back up at her as the group collectively rolled their eyes.

"Down, Gwaine." Morgana was glaring daggers at him. Gwaine simply dropped Sefa's hand, winked at her, and returned to his spot with a smirk on his face. "Since you already met Gwaine, let's introduce the rest of everyone." She went around and said each person's name in turn until she got to the end, where Merlin stood between Percy and Sefa. "And _this _is Merlin."

A light of recognition flashed in Sefa's eyes as she looked at Merlin. "Oh." She looked at Morgana, who gave an almost indistinguishable nod. "_Oh_."

Merlin suddenly felt very hot around the collar.

"I hear you're a transfer student," Sefa began, looking at Merlin with an eager look on her face.

Merlin could feel the eyes of the entire group on him. "Yes, that's right." He started scratching his palm with his fingernail.

"How are you liking it here?"

"Alright. No complaints, I guess."

"That's good. Say, do you want to go talk on the patio?"

It sounded like someone choked on their drink, but Merlin didn't look to see who it was. He felt like he was scratching a hole through his hand. "Um, no thank you. I think I'll just stay here with my friends."

Sefa's face fell, and she simply replied, "Oh, alright then. See you in class, Morgana." She turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Morgana promptly reached over and smacked Merlin.

"What was that for?" Merlin rubbed his arm where she hit him. For such an unassuming girl, that really stung. And since he bruised like a peach, it probably would leave a fairly large mark.

"Why didn't you go with her? She's a lovely girl!"

"Because he's gay," Percy answered for Merlin, taking a sip of his beer. Someone choked on their beer again, and Merlin turned to see Leon patting Elyan on the back. He looked back at Percy, slightly in shock. He hadn't told anyone here that he was gay, how did Percy know? He asked the man, who simply shrugged.

"I'm just observant." He went back to drinking his beer. Everyone was still looking at him, so he elaborated, "Whenever any of us are talking about the hot girls that came to a party, he never joins in. When Gwaine asked him who his celebrity crush was, he said Benedict Cumberbatch but you were all so drunk you thought he was joking. Not to mention, he's checked out at least three different guys since we've gotten here."

The group's jaws all dropped. They stared in silence, then Gwaine asked, "Is this why you don't talk when we're in public? You're getting dirt on all of us?"

Percy just chuckled. "Not dirt, just observations." He turned around and went off to get another beer.

Arthur, who had been shockingly silent the whole time Merlin had been there, seemed to get his wits back about him first. "And I thought Leon was the one we had to worry would figure us out by just looking at us."

Leon ducked his head, but not fast enough to hide the smirk from Arthur.

"What's that smirk about, Leon?"

The curly haired man looked back up and quietly answered, "I had...sort of...suspected it, too. I wasn't sure, just a hunch. I didn't notice everything Percy just mentioned, but Merlin was staring at de Gea when he thought no one was looking at that pick-up game a while back."

Everyone gaped again, then Gwaine asked the question everyone had been wondering since Percy had first spoken up. "Are they right, Merlin?" Everyone's eyes turned back to their newest friend.

"Half right," Merlin clarified. "Well, more than half, I guess. I call myself bi, but there's only ever been two girls I've been interested in. I like guys better."

Morgana seemed to think about it. "Ironic, isn't it? The two gay people in our group are also flatmates," she mused.

Merlin's head snapped to look at Arthur, his brow furrowed in confusion. "You're gay?"

Arthur just shrugged and turned to Gwen and asked her how her presentation in her communications class had gone. Merlin dropped the subject, but he was fairly surprised at Arthur's revelation. He had been the only gay guy in his group of friends at his old school. At least, the only openly gay one (they were all pretty much waiting for Corey to hurry up and come out). He had been slightly worried his new friends might reject him, but now he realized he had been stupid.

Percy had returned and the group had started grilling Gwen and Lancelot, and Merlin gladly joined back in. After a while, Gwaine turned to Merlin and asked him quietly enough that no one else could hear, "Merlin, doesn't your face hurt? You've been smiling for the past ten minutes."

Merlin somehow managed to smile even wider. "No, Gwaine. I feel great."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I am so so so sorry I haven't posted anything new for a while guys! I've had the idea floating around in my head for a couple weeks, bu I just recently finished getting it all down and then having my beta read through it. This chapter, however is about 1200 words longer than any other one I've written, so I hope that helps make up for it. Once again, thanks for all the favorites and follows, and the reviews from Merthurfan1, dragonryder622, AnotherMerlinFan, HauntedApple, Aashna, sapere7, StrangerStories, Mabudachi-trio, AwsomestPersonAlive, .x, and BreathingFantasies. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If you still think I might own Merlin, then you might be as oblivious as Arthur.

**Chapter 8**

The next month was surprisingly calm. The group had finally found it's own little routine after the first half of the semester finished. Almost every night Merlin, the knights, and the girls would go to Percy and Gwaine's apartment where either Percy or Lancelot would make them all dinner (they were surprisingly good cooks) and everyone would hang out watching TV or playing video games or just talking until late in the night. The only exception was on Thursday nights, when Merlin and Arthur would order pizza or Chinese takeout or something similar so they could stay at their place for tutoring. They had soon figured out that the only way the tutoring was going to work was if one person was tutored in private. Merlin had decided that the convenience of living together, and the fact that Arthur was absolutely terrible at actually doing his homework on time, meant that he was the one to get the private tutoring sessions. Everyone else met on Saturday afternoons to be tutored.

During one of the Thursday night sessions in mid-November, yells and groans of frustration could be heard emanating from Arthur and Merlin's flat.

"I give up! I can't do it!" Arthur threw his notebook at the wall, aggravated that he still was not understanding the concept. "Math is hard enough without throwing in all this _Greek_."

Merlin rubbed at his eyes. He and Arthur had been working on Physics homework for the past two hours, and they had barely gotten to the fourth one of about fifty. Dropping his hand to the table, Merlin looked back at the problem in Arthur's book which was sitting between them on the dining room table. "Arthur, I don't know how I can explain this in simpler terms. Do you want me to go step by step again?"

"No, _Merlin_," Arthur shot back, "what I want is not to have to take this bloody class! Or at least a break from just staring at these stupid papers and stupid notes and stupid books." Arthur moved to grab the book from the table (presumably to fling it across the room for the third time that night) but Merlin nabbed it and pulled it from harm's way first.

Merlin wracked his brain for some way to get Arthur to finish his homework when he remembered a conversation he had overheard between Elyan and Arthur just the day before about how Arthur hadn't been to a pub in almost three weeks and he wished he could find time to do so. Merlin looked at Arthur, who had his head in his hands. "Maybe you just need some incentive."

Arthur lifted his head slightly at this, arching one golden eyebrow in curiosity.

"What if I told you that if you finish up to number thirty by eleven o'clock, you and I will go to The Rising Sun and I'll buy the first round?" Merlin smirked slightly as he saw Arthur's eyes widen. The blonde nearly lunged at Merlin to get the book from him. Merlin glanced at the clock they had on the wall. Arthur still had two and a half hours to try to finish his problems, and Merlin was confident he would now that a trip to his favorite bar was a possibility.

Merlin was reading a book when Arthur dropped his pencil, just under two hours after Merlin had made his offer. The lanky man pulled Arthur's notebook to him to check his work, and he could feel the shock showing on his face as he saw that all of it was done correctly. Merlin's eyes narrowed as he lifted them to meet his suddenly ingenious roommate's dark blue orbs. "You were faking that you didn't get it, weren't you?"

Arthur's face became suspiciously innocent at Merlin's accusation. "Why would I possibly do that?"

"To aggravate me."

"Oh come on, Merlin. You really think I would fake stupidity for two hours just to mess with you?"

"You've done stranger things."

Arthur simply rolled his eyes and then nodded at his work "Did I do them right?"

Merlin's eyes flickered down to Arthur's work and then back to the blue eyes looking at him with hope. He sighed and answered, "Yes, you did them right. Go get ready and we'll go like I promised."

Arthur practically jumped out of his chair and ran to his room. Merlin stacked all the papers and books into a neat pile on the table then headed to his room to change for the bar as well. He reentered the living room ten minutes later to find that Arthur was still in his room, so Merlin plopped on the couch and turned on the telly, vaguely paying attention to the news playing on the screen.

After waiting another ten minutes, Merlin went and banged on Arthur's door. "What's taking you so long?" Merlin practically yelled through the door. "You were the one so gung-ho about going, and you're taking forever!"

"Unlike you, Merlin, I like to look presentable when I go out," came the muffled reply.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Well hurry up or I'm leaving you."

"I'd like to see you try to get there without me. I'm the one who has a car, remember?"

Merlin sighed in defeat and resituated himself on the couch, prepared to wait on his roommate. He couldn't help feeling surprised he never guessed Arthur was gay before Morgana mentioned it. Arthur fussed over his appearance like a teenage girl.

Surprisingly, Arthur came out after only five more minutes. Merlin didn't think he looked all that much better looking than any other time, but then Merlin had been finding himself thinking Arthur was very fit almost three times a day, so he may not have been the best judge.

Twenty minutes later they found themselves sitting in a booth at the Rising Sun, both nursing a beer and awkwardly staring around at the rest of the patrons. They remained this way for a short time, then Merlin spoke up. "Nice weather we've been having."

Arthur looked at Merlin, his face a careful, clearly readable blank: _I can't believe you really just started a conversation with a comment on the weather_.

Merlin shrugged, refusing the blush building up around his ears. "Do you have a better topic to discuss? Because I'm clearly out of ideas."

Arthur stared at his beer for a few moments, then looked back up at the man across from him. "Have you seen the new Star Trek trailer?" The two stared at each other for a moment, then Merlin burst out laughing, drawing the attention of several people nearby.

"You look at me like I'm an idiot for asking about the weather," Merlin finally managed to get out, "then you ask me about a _movie trailer_?"

He descended into another fit of giggles as Arthur felt his face heating up and quickly leaned on one had to try to cover part of it up. "Well you said liked to watch old episodes of the original series with your step-brother, so I was just wondering! Never mind if you're just going to act like this." Screw it. Arthur threw back the last of his beer, hoping it would do something to downplay the furious red his face had gone.

As soon as Arthur stood, empty pint in hand and going for another, Merlin forced himself back under control. He _had _mentioned that he would watch old episodes of the classic series with Daegal, but that had been weeks ago while they were flipping channels one Wednesday night. Arthur hadn't even acknowledged that he had heard Merlin's comment, too busy staring at the TV and going through the shows.

Arthur returned with a new bottle and slid back into his spot across from Merlin, and immediately busied himself playing with the paper label wrapped around the beer. Merlin noticed that he was purposely avoiding Merlin's eyes. Eager to get past the awkwardness that had sprung up again, Merlin apologized. "Arthur, I'm sorry I laughed at you. I swear I didn't mean to, it was just out of surprise, I guess." Arthur still wasn't looking at him, so he tried again. "I'm sorry Arthur, I really am." Those blue eyes stayed trained on the bottle in front of them, so Merlin tried another approach. He took one of his hands and placed it over Arthur's frantically fussing fingers.

Merlin felt something static light up between them, quick and sudden, as soon as he'd touched Arthur. Both men's hands jerked back, only just far enough to stop the skin-to-skin contact, and Arthur's eyes finally darted up to meet those of his roommates.

They stared at each other for a moment, then they both glanced off in other directions. "I'm truly sorry if I offended you," Merlin started once again, his eyes glued to the table in front of him. "It was completely accidental."

"It's fine, Merlin." Merlin looked up at Arthur's response, and saw the knight looking at him with a small smile on his face. "I'm sure I've insulted you more on other occasions."  
"Well that's for sure."

"I apologize for those, by the way."

"Thank you. I tried not to hold it against you too much after the soccer match. You are a prat, after all."

"Very funny, Merlin."

They'd been chatting easily for an hour before Arthur asked Merlin a surprising question. "You said at the party the other night that you were 'more than half' gay, but you call yourself bi. What did you mean by that, if you don't mind my asking?"

Merlin carefully considered how to phrase his answer before answering. "I mainly find myself attracted to men, but I have been in a relationship with a woman before."

"Most gay men have, Merlin. Hell, I even have. It's called a beard."

"I know, but this was different. I wasn't just trying to fight who I was. I truly cared about this girl, Freya. She was very special to me, like no other girl has ever been. She's the only girl who I've ever felt like that for, though, so I identify myself as mostly gay."

Arthur seemed to consider this as he rolled his nearly empty beer bottle between his fingers, his lips pursed. "That...makes sense."

"I'm glad I have your approval." Merlin glanced down at his watch. "Blimey, it's already almost one! What do you say we get one more drink then head home? After all, you still have homework to finish tomorrow. Well, today." Arthur nodded his head in agreement, so Merlin made his way to the bar through the crowd.

After he got the two bottles, Merlin turned to go back to the booth, but accidentally knocked into a man standing behind him. A large portion of both beers sloshed out and onto the man's shirt, which Merlin immediately started apologizing for profusely. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying close enough attention when I turned around. This is my fault. Here, let me get some napkins to clean this up."

As he turned to get the napkins, though, he felt a hand grip his upper arm painfully and forcefully spin him back to face the man he had spilled on. The man, Merlin now noticed, had dark brown, almost black, eyes, and unruly black hair that seemed to spill out of the ponytail that held it all behind his head. The man was also very large, and most definitely stronger than Merlin.

"What's your problem, mate?" the large man spat out. "Why can't you watch where you're going?"

"I'm terribly sorry, I just-" Merlin began again, but the man cut him off.

"I come here, trying to have a good time with my buddies, then some little _nancy-boy_has to go and ruin it!"

"I'll pay to have your shirt cleaned if-"  
The man started to laugh. "You're worried about getting my shirt cleaned? You should be a lot more worried about the beating you're about to get from me and my mates."

Just as the man gripped Merlin by his shirt collar and Merlin began to understand the meaning of true terror, Arthur came from out of nowhere to stand between the man and Merlin (well, as close to between as he could with the man holding Merlin). "Hey, my friend here apologized for spilling, and even offered to pay for your shirt. Why don't you just leave him alone?"  
The man turned his gaze to focus on the new addition. "Oh, so nancy-boy has friends in high places. Well, Pendragon, just because he's got connections, doesn't mean he gets off scot-free."

Merlin felt himself being pulled by the man, but then Arthur intervened once more. "Look, just let my friend go, please? I'll even buy the next round for you and your friends."  
The man seemed to consider this, then released Merlin. Arthur signalled to the bartender to give the group another round. The two flatmates began to walk away, when they heard from behind them, "Oi, Pendragon!"

Arthur turned back around, and the man's fist connected with his jaw, knocking Arthur to the floor. Merlin could hear the man and his friends laughing as he knelt to help Arthur off the ground.

"That's it!" The bartender signaled to the bouncer near the entrance. "Get these bastards out of here!"

Merlin grabbed Arthur under an elbow as the group of loud men were forcibly pushed out the door. "Are you alright?" he asked, helping Arthur to his feet.

Arthur glared back at him. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Because getting punched in the jaw doesn't hurt at all." He rolled his eyes, hand rubbing over his chin. "Honestly Merlin, I shouldn't even take you out in public."

Merlin smiled to himself, until Arthur's hand moved and the quickly purpling bruise on his jaw became visible. "We should get home." He then turned to the bartender and asked, "Can we have some ice to go?"

The man reached under the bar and produced a plastic cup filled to the brim with ice cubes and handed it to Merlin. "I hope this doesn't stop you guys from coming back."

"It would take more than a few assholes to stop us from coming here," Arthur replied with a grin, which made him wince. Merlin handed him the cup of ice and the two men left. As they approached Arthur's car, Arthur started to walk to the driver's side when he felt a hand pull on his elbow.

"Nuh-uh, you just got socked in the jaw. I'm driving."

"Just because I got hit doesn't mean I can't drive. I'm fine."

"You can't drive with both hands while you're icing your face. I'll drive."

Arthur glared at Merlin, but he handed over the keys and walked to the passenger door.

They quickly returned home and as they entered the apartment Arthur plopped down on the couch. Merlin came up next to him, awkwardly hovering near his shoulder. "Do you need some more ice?"

"Uh, sure, that would be great, thanks."

Merlin scurried off to the kitchen and grabbed some ice from the freezer, then put it in a plastic bag and wrapped the bag in a towel to keep it from dripping too much. He returned to the living room, where Arthur was getting off the couch. "Ah, ah, sit down, Arthur", he chided, gently pushing his flatmate back onto the sofa.

"I don't need to be _fussed _over, Merlin," Arthur snapped, pushing Merlin's hands away.

"Just stay _still_, you clod," Merlin snapped back, pushing him down a little harder. Arthur gave way with a huff, sprawling out across the cushions like a petulant child, and Merlin snorted. "If you can be this foul tempered, it's clearly not broken."

"Foul- I took a right hook for you!"

"Which is why I'm playing nurse," Merlin sniffed. He lowered himself to his knees, frowning down at the shadow the bruise set off against the side of Arthur's face. "Ham fists," he muttered, brushing his fingers down the side of Arthur's face.

Arthur flinched at the contact. "I'm fine," he said, before Merlin could ask again. "It's just... cold."

Ah. Merlin raised the makeshift ice-pack to his face, setting it down gingerly on top of Arthur's face. Arthur's eyes close like it's something instinctual, and Merlin's breath caught. Arthur was... well, he was hot, of course, but like this, face smooth and peaceful and half-asleep, he was downright dreamy, and-

And Merlin was an idiot, because they lived together, and that would be _foolish_. Merlin tended to try and avoid being foolish.

"How's that?" he asked, voice rougher than it should be. Arthur had a wrinkle right between his eyes where his pain had holed up. Merlin wanted to clear that away. He cleared his throat instead. "Not too cold?"

"No," Arthur hummed. He opened his eyes with a sweep of those awful eyelashes, and Merlin wanted to promise him that he wasn't staring, no, absolutely not, but then Arthur was staring at him, and they were ridiculously close, here, and would it really be so bad-

"Painkillers," Merlin said quickly, willing Arthur to blink first, because they might be getting closer. "I should get you... to kill the pain."  
"I've had worse," Arthur murmured, his eyes flickering down to Merlin's mouth.

"That can't have been fun."

"I've never had such a caring nurse."

"You're welcome."

"Thank you."

"Thank you," Merlin corrected him, because it had been Merlin's own scrawny neck he'd saved back there. "Thank you," Merlin repeated, a little more solemnly because it _was _his fault, wasn't it, Arthur in pain and petulant and looking at him like _that_, his eyes stupidly, stunningly blue, and his lips twisted to the side in a self-satisfied smirk.

"You should rest," Merlin said thickly, moving to stand before Arthur could say something else that would make him stay, that would make him do something stupid. "I'm not helping anymore, really."

"Merlin-" Arthur's a moment too slow to catch his hand on the ice pack before he's walking towards his room, one last tingle on his fingers- an echo of half a touch from Arthur's hand, rushing to secure him in place.

_Foolish_, Merlin tells himself. "Tell me if you need anything else," he yells. Through his door. As soon as he's closed it.


End file.
